PICO
Different approaches including global models, data-driven approaches, and machine learning are used to assess water balance components at the global, continental, and regional scale. By making use of in-situ as well as remotely sensed observations, they attempt to quantify water fluxes (e.g., evapotranspiration, streamflow, groundwater recharge) and water storage on the terrestrial part of the Earth as a whole (e.g., from GRACE) or in separate compartments (e.g., water bodies, snow, soil, groundwater). Increasing attention is given to uncertainties that stem from forcing datasets, model structure, parameters and combinations of these. Current research shows that flux and storage estimates differ considerably due to the methodology and datasets used, so a robust assessment of global, continental and regional water balance components remains challenging.
This session is seeking contributions, including:
1) past/future assessment of water balance components (fluxes and storages) such as precipitation, freshwater fluxes to the oceans (or inland sinks), evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, water use, changes in terrestrial water storage or individual components at global, continental and regional scales,
2) application of innovative explorative approaches undertaking such assessments – through better use of advanced data-driven and statistical approaches, mechanistic models, machine learning and approaches to assimilate (or accommodate) in-situ and remote sensing datasets for improved estimation of terrestrial water storages/fluxes,
3) analysis and quantification of different sources of uncertainties in estimation of water balance components,
4) examination and attribution of systematic differences in storages/flux estimates between different methodologies, and/or
5) applications/consequences of those findings, such as sea level rise and water surplus or scarcity.
We encourage submissions based on different methodological approaches that estimate and analyze water balance components individually or in an integrative manner on global, continental, or regional scales. Assessments of uncertainty in past/future estimates of water balance components and their implications are highly welcome.